An 'Old Friend' Returns (TomTord ensued)
by blessedemon
Summary: After crash-landing back home in Eddsworld, Tord comes crawling back to his friends looking for forgiveness. They let him in and allow him to heal after getting hurt, but Edd is still hurt from the past. After making amends for his actions, Tord gets a little more than friendly with a certain Jehovah's witness, but what's the real intention?
1. Chapter 1: Coming Home

It was a rainy day in Eddsworld and the clouds above were darker than normal. Water droplets fell from the sky like bullets and landed in pre-formed puddles along the sidewalk in a rhythmic pattern. The whole neighborhood was silent except for the liquid, until something bigger fell from the sky. A large metal container broke the cloud positions and fell quickly towards the ground whilst making a high-pitch whiiirirrr.

It happened so quickly, the loud sound of the container crashing against a soft, green patch of grass echoed throughout the suburban area. After the dirt settles from flying several feet into the air, a small hatch (barely big enough to fit a person) opened up from the mess. Several grunts could be heard from the opening from the cold water hitting the person's face. As the figure emerged from the metal casing, two tufts of hair sprung up from the rest. A red, robotic arm gripped the side of the container as he hoisted himself up onto the steady grassy hill. As he turned to look at his environment, he started to realize where he was.

"I'm home." Was all he said to himself as he began to limp down the sidewalk to his old house.

His eyes scanned the area of the house, still some construction being done on the roofing from his 'incident' a couple years back. Even a couple of robotic pieces could still be seen shimmering in the light from between the grass and the dirt. The rain pelted hard against his hair and soon flattened it against his round face due to how far he walked. He continued limping to the door and he raised his fist to knock. But he couldn't bring himself to do it. How could he after all? After leaving for years, he just suddenly shows up just to lie to his so-called friends and now he expects them to take him in? He had no other choice. After all, the worst they could possibly do is slam the door in his face.

As he rapped his knuckles against the wooden door, he could hear the classic yelling between them as to who should answer it. The polite starting voice of Edd who probably was doing something called to his two friends to get it. Matt followed him, saying he was too busy cleaning his own photos. Then came Tom who just didn't want to get up from the couch. The arguing continued for a while until it was silenced by about 20 seconds of quiet. Then Tord heard footsteps approaching the door. His heart stopped when he realized it was Tom who was chosen.

"Hell-..." Tom stopped himself as soon as he saw the red hoodie, slamming the door.

Tord sighed and knocked again. He was only met with silence. Again, he knocked.

"We don't want you! Leave or I'll blow your brains out!" Tom screamed through the door in anger.

"Listen! I only need a place to crash for a- uh.. A little while!" Tord tried, grunting as his wounded, bleeding leg hit the ground. "I'm hurt!"

"And we care why? Just go. Nobody wants you here old friend." Tom mocked.

"Who is it?" Was faintly heard, belonging to the voice of Edd. "Wait, is it Tord?"

A few moments passed and then the door was opened to reveal the hurt-filled eyes of Edd, the dark-abyss of Tom's and a confused looking Matt peeking his head from the corner. Edd looked at Tord up and down and saw the blood dripping from his leg. Without a single word, he grabbed his 'friend' by the arm and dragged him into the bathroom inside, shoving him onto the toilet to sit down. The two others stood at the doorframe as Edd silently wrapped Tord's leg up tightly.

"I'm sorry." Tord tried, his voice cracking a bit as Edd tightened the bandages.

"You nearly kill Tom and that's it?" Edd said quietly, his eyes never meeting the others.

"I-"

"No. There's nothing you can say to justify hurting one of us." Edd stood up and looked at the side with his hands in his hoodie's pocket, "You can stay. I'll grab a pillow and some blankets and you can sleep on the couch."

"Thank you. I have nowhere else to go." Tord said, standing up with help from the counter.

Edd dropped the soft materials on the couch cushion and walked off, his eyes still reflecting pain from the past. Tord obviously wasn't stupid, he knew how much of an asshole he was. He knew he had no right to be here, and it was a miracle they let him in. But as he laid down, his leg still aching from the crash, he stared up at the dark ceiling and remembered all the good times they had. He remembered the times when he could truly call each of them his friend. His arm whirred with every fidget he made which only reminded him of how alienated he was from the three. He was no longer their Tord. He was a monster.

The following day wasn't more comfortable than the nighttime. He woke up by the smell of fresh, fat-filled bacon that filled his lungs with every breath. He would have slept longer, but nothing could keep him from something as delicious as bacon when he hadn't had it for months. Tord carefully sat up and limped his way over to the kitchen, only to see Tom standing at the stove. Confused as to why he was cooking and not Edd who usually took care of that job, he grabbed a plate and stood at the counter, clearing his throat to alert Tom that he was patiently waiting for the food.

"Why are you here, you traitor?" Tom asked, not even turning his head.

"Pardon?"

"I said, why are you here, you traitor?" He said a bit louder this time, turning to face the other and stare him straight in the eyes. "You have the nerve to show up here and you didn't even say why."

"My leg is hurt." Tord reasoned, stepping back slightly from the anger-filled man.

"No. How did you hurt your leg? Who were you running away from that you came back here? Who is after you?"

"W-what? Nobody is after me, my friend! And I hurt my leg when I crashed landed here!"

"Do. Not. Call. Me. Your. Friend." Tom said, growling through his teeth in a warning tone, "You are none of our friends. You nearly killed me, you punched Matt in the face, and you betrayed Edd. He is the most hurt of all of us, try and explain yourself to him first."

This silenced Tord, he didn't know what to say. Everytime he would think of something, it would just come out as some sort of lame excuse for his behavior. He just left his plate by the stove and grabbed an apple as he walked out of the kitchen. Walking down the hall, he went to the picture frame and slid it to the side, not knowing what he was expecting. All he got was the beige paint that covered the entire hallway. His footsteps made a soft creaking sound with every pace he took, his injured leg making a deep thumping sound with it. As he lifted his eyes from the ground, he noticed that he unconsciously made his way to the garage. An idea popped into his mind and he immediately grabbed the toolbox that they always left in there, using them to start work on his arm.

Almost the entire day passed when the trio realized that they still had a guest in their house. The only sounds audible throughout the entire afternoon that was made by Tord were the occasional hums of a blowtorch coming from the garage. As he emerged from the room, his hair was spread in every which way and parts of his face were dark from oil he used. He smelled like tar and when he approached the living room, it nearly made Matt pass out.

"Dear God! What happened to you?!" He yelled, waving his hand in front of his face to try and blow the nasty smell away from him.

"Oh, heh, pardon my odor. I was just eh… Upgrading my arm, if you don't mind."

"Upgrading?" Matt asked, tilting his head in curiosity.

"Oh, yes. It was malfunctioning earlier. Always making sounds, you know?" He moved his arm up and down, then side to side as it silently complied, "It isn't as loud anymore."

Tom watched as Matt interacted with Tord in a friendly way, obviously catching his attention. Matt was never the sharpest tool in the shed, but this was ridiculous. He elbowed Edd who was sitting next to him on the couch and nodded at the two a few feet away from them, rolling his eyes to emphasize how dumb Matt was being. Though, Tom didn't get the response he was expecting. He watched with wide and curious eyes as Edd calmly got up and walked to the backyard without saying a word.

With a can of cola opened and half-empty next to Edd, he sat outside while looking up at the starry sky. With each glimmer that the specks made, the more he was distracted. He could obviously hear the friendly laughter between Tord and Matt inside, but he chose to ignore it. Ignorance is bliss, he would remind himself; so it isn't Matt's fault that he forgot everything that happened before. As his back hit the wooden deck and his hair flattened beneath him, he felt the cool breeze calmly drift in and out of his hoodie. He felt the chill run along his spine and shivered when his skin chilled. Then the quiet hoo-ing of the owls in the distance was muffled when he heard the door behind him slide open and then slide close. He tilted his head and noticed it was Tom standing above him with his usual relaxed eyes watching him.

"You left." Tom started as he sat next to the smaller man.

"I did. I wanted some space." Edd said quietly while closing his eyes.

"I think we got enough of that from our adventures already." He replied with a joking tone, attempting to lighten the mood. When he was only met with silence, he tried again, "You can just tell him to leave."

"What kind of friend would I be if I kicked him out?"

"What kind of friend was he when he blew our house up?"

"Tom, I.. I can't do that!" Edd said a bit louder, sitting up and looking his friend in the eyes, "We've all been through so much, it wouldn't be right!"

"Why do you say it like that, Edd?"

"Like what..?"

"Like he would do the same if you needed help. Do you honestly think that if we all showed up to his place: bloodied, hurt, and needing a home, that he would let us in?" Now Tom was leaning forward and talking with a loud and stern voice.

"Because.." Edd said softly, "I know deep down that he really cares about us."

Author's Note:

Thank you for reading my story! I hope you enjoyed this first chapter! I would just like to point out: This isn't going to be some one-shot, smut-ridden, angsty sex kind of story. I want to build up on their characters, show that Tom, Tord, Matt, and Edd and more than just animations on a screen. They have feelings and they show it throughout the entire show. So when the smut does come, it's going to be realistic. I'm putting my own emotions into this, and hopefully the story turns out well.

:)

-K


	2. Chapter 2: Nostalgia

As the stars moved across the sky as the night turned to day, the soon clear skies were filled with white puffy clouds that looked like they could have been made of cotton candy. The sun peaked high above Eddsworld and it was that nice temperature that was just between too hot and too cold, making it the perfect day to go for a walk. Or in Edd and Matt's case, playing video games in a dark room with junk food scattered in front of them.

They had just gotten the newest Gears of War and have been playing it for hours on end, not a single ray of sun peaking through the curtains or tinted windows. With loud sounds of machine guns and the gurgling of aliens radiating from the screen, the two barely blinked in paranoia that they would immediately die.

"Woah! Watch where you're shooting, Matt! You nearly killed me!" Edd yelled, tilting his body with his controller as if it'll change the direction his player was going.

"Sorry! We're surrounded though! Does it really matter at this point?"

"We're not restarting if that's what you mean. C'mon! We're almost to the checkpoint! Just keep shooting!"

"Are you two nearly done?" A dead voice chimed into their conversation from the back of the room on another couch.

Out of shock, Edd yelped out while whipping his head around, surprised to see Tom sitting there with his hands in his pocket and his pitch black eyes watching with boredom.

"How long have you been sitting there?!" He yelled out of surprise, pausing the game.

"You invited me to play with you and then proceeded to play without me."

"Oh! Uhm.. I'm sorry, Tom. Why don't you grab Matt's controller and take a shift?"

Matt gasped as if he had just been slapped in the face and held onto the small hand-held device. "Why me?"

"Because you're taking one for the team and we both like you very much for doing so. C'mon Tom! Let's keep going!"

He just looked at both of them with his normal bowling-ball-like face and got up, "I'm going on a beer run. Let's watch a movie or something when I get back.

On his way out to their car he noticed Tord hunched over at the couch, using a screwdriver to twist something into place on a small device. He walked over to the horn-haired man and watched from over his shoulder. What Tord was holding was a spherical machine that just fit in his hand that had a sensor on one side of it. There were two small holes on the bottom and two on the side and the front seemed to open up to something. Tom couldn't think of any good that could come out of this, so he nudged the other and nodded for him to get up.

"I'm getting beer, let's go."

"You.. You want me to come with you, Jehovah?" Tord asked cautiously, lowering the tool that he had gripped in his hand.

"I want beer. I don't want anything else. Come with or leave your damned inventions alone, your pick." Tom said, walking to the front door with keys in his hand. He noticed the other following behind at a safe pace, and kept an eye on him in his peripheral vision.

On their way to the store, the car was silent except for the radio music that was playing quietly in the background. For Tord it became uncomfortable since he had not grown accustomed to being around people that weren't Patryk or Paul, so he tried to spark a conversation.

"Thomas?"

"Don't call me that." He droned in an irritated voice, continuing to look at the road.

"Ah, I'm sorry.. Tom, could we-?"

"No."

"You didn't even hear what I had to say." Tord whined at him.

"The thing is, I don't care about what you have to say, did you ever take that into consideration, Commie?"

Tord flinched slightly at the nickname and grinned to himself, a comeback springing into his mind, "Well why did you bring me then?"

"Isn't it obvious? I don't want you destroying the house.. For a second time." Tom replied, smirking and pulling up to the drug store. "We're here. I'll be back.

Tom sat in the car quietly, looking around at the contents of the back seat (which was barely visible due to the amount of shit on top of it) and saw the classic blue hoodie that belonged to Tom. The cloth along it was worn down and obviously showed signs of mistreatment over the years, and by the stains on it it obviously has been through some crazy things. Tord reached for it and held the soft item between his hands, reminiscing on the old times the four of them would have together. But then, he had an urge.. Nothing too big, though it still threw him off: he wanted to smell it. Not in a creepy way or anything, but he was remembering so many fond memories of them all, he was caught in the moment. Shakily, he lifted it to his face and took a whiff in. All that was lifted into his lungs was a mixture of alcohol and tobacco that gathered on the cloth over its use. Tord did this a couple more times before he caught a glimpse of himself from the reflection of the store windows. He shook his head and tossed the hoodie into its home in the back seat, laughing to himself.

"I'm Red Leader, dammit. If only they saw me doing some pussy crap like that." He joked to himself, grinning in amusement. "Ahh, how times have changed."

It was a short bit before Tom climbed back into the car holding two 6-packs. As he settled back in his seat, he tossed something small to Tord, which landed in his lap. It was a small brown bundle that fit perfectly in his hand: A cigar.

"Jehovah, you-"

"Don't say a word. You just look like you need a smoke, that's all. I expect you to pay me back later." Tom said, setting the alcohol in the backseat on top of everything else.

Tord silently nodded and inspected the small gift. It wasn't anything too expensive compared to what he would have preferred, maybe 7$ or 8$ at the most. Still, he figured that he would wait until later to use it. He knew that more stressful times were ahead and he was sure he would appreciate it more later. He shoved the small item into his pocket and slid out the tiny sphere he was working on earlier, continuing to tinker with it as Tom drove home.

"Dammit, why're you working on it now of all times?" Tom groaned with irritation.

"I have nothing else better to do."

"What the hell are you even going to do with that?"

Tord held it up to his eye and showed that it was just the right size for his socket.

"Ah, so you're deciding to become a full robot, huh? Smart." He sarcastically said, going back to focusing on the road.

"No, you idiot. I'm going to improve my vision. My eye was hurt from the explosion, along with my arm. I never got the time to make one, so why not now?"

"Yes, yes. Why not now? Edd is _really_ going to like that."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Tord questioned, his eyes leveling with Tom's.

"Don't you see how uncomfortable you make him? You're not the Tord who left for the city, you're not even the Tord that came back. You're the Tord who went crazy and abandoned his friends. He sees you as nothing else but an old friend who's grown further from us over the years."

"Yeah? Well don't you think I had a good reason for leaving?!" Tord snapped, gripping the small eyeball tighter in his robotic hand, "You think I left just for fun?!"

"I don't know why you left! You had three best friends who would've gone to the end of the world for you, and you just left it all behind! You had no reason to leave, you had everything you needed right where you were!" Tom yelled back, pulling over to the side of the road before he would crash, "You never needed to go to Norway, you never needed to build an army, you never needed to betray us!" As he continued to yell, his voice turned from anger to pain, his dark sockets growing deeper with each accusation.

"You don't know what you're talking about, Thomas."

The name caused Tom to growl in anger, swinging his fist straight to Tord's jaw, "Don't. Call. Me. Thomas!"

Almost reflexively, Tord's robotic arm flew up and gripped Tom's wrist just before it could hit him. Tord turned to look at the hand he was gripping and then at the man who threw it. As Tom watched him, his angry eyes not changing, his fist slowly fell limp. Tord let go of it and watched as Tom held back onto the steering wheel, his expression never changing.

"I'm sorry."

"No." Tord said, "I am sorry. But don't you ever talk like you know what I've been through. I had a reason to leave, and it's above all of us."

The two drove to their house in silence the rest of the way.

Tom and Tord walked inside and was greeted by a Nerf pellet to the face. Tom was in front and as soon as he got hit, a sly grin spread across his face, sprinting to his room quickly to retrieve his 'special' gun. Tord stood at the door and didn't know what to do, should he join in? Or should he just stay out of it? He thought the former would help him bond more with his comrades so he too, went off to find some sort of Nerf weapon.

"Ha! Go run home to your mommy, Tom!" Edd yelled from behind a chair teasingly, holding his gun securely while keeping an eye out for Matt.

"What? Tom's mom is here?! I love her cookies!" Matt yelled back naively, standing straight up from his hiding spot and looking around in curiosity.

"Well, no. But you're going to be begging for yours!" Said the final member of the Trio calmly, cocking his gun and pelting Matt in the back of the head with at least twenty bullets.

They all kept going, yelling insults and threats to each other while running around the house. The playful bonding seemed to distract them as Tord decided to join in on the fun, occasionally spewing playful banter and pelting them with his own soft bullets. For a moment, if you walked into the household, you wouldn't even believe that they weren't best friends. The four of them seemed to be lost in the fantasy of whatever fake war they were fighting in now. This fighting went on for hours on end, sometimes stopping to reload or grab a can of beer/cola from the fridge. It wasn't until the fight ended and they were all sitting on the deck outside that Edd looked around at the three sitting beside him, looking up at the night sky, that he started to feel like things were normal. Nobody knew how desperately Edd wanted things to go back to how they were.

 _Maybe…_ He thought, _maybe it could be back like old times._

Author's Note:

And here's chapter 2! Slowly starting to become less emotional, but I'm still having fun with it! Thank you for reading!

:)

-K


	3. Chapter 3: Making Amends

" _We're going to need to amputate it. He's lost too much blood." A voice mumbled from the side._

" _It's too dangerous! He could die unless we bind it and replace his blood immediately!" Another voice yelled back with more anxiety._

 _Everything was a sensory overload. His vision blurry and seeing double of all the medical machines hanging above. His ears ringing from the amount of arguing along the sides of the room, both to his left and right. His right arm cold as ice and painful as hell, making the rest of his body go numb as he quickly lost blood. The scent of cigarette smoke wafting through the room mixing with the smell of rubbing alcohol. And finally, the taste of metallic blood stuck between the crooks of his teeth and trapped between his tongue and the roof of his mouth. He tried to move his body, anything at all to reassure himself that he's okay, but nothing happened._

" _Dammit, we need to work faster! Patryk, you need to get it off. I only have one eye, my depth perception is shit and we can't afford to lose Red Leader! Now work!"_

 _Blinking and attempting to clear his vision, the last thing he saw was Paul leaning over with hesitation while holding a saw._

" _I'm sorry, Red Leader, this is for the best."_

"Ah! No!" Tord woke up on the couch and looked around the dark living room, attempting to catch his breath with his hand clung to his bare chest. He glanced down and saw the red robotic arm that dug deep into his skin, moving with each breath he took. After he reassured himself that he was at home, he slowly laid back against the soft cushions and let out a heaving sigh. A few moments later he heard soft footsteps walking down the stairs, so he gripped the blankets close to his body and shut his eyes tightly, pretending to still be asleep. As the sound directed itself past him and into the kitchen, he could hear the person digging around the fridge for something. Tord carefully got up and followed the sound, turning on the light as he entered the room.

"H-huh?" Edd whipped around and saw his roommate standing in the doorway wearing nothing but his boxers. His hair fell flat against the sides of his face and his robotic arm gripped the side of the wall. The light of the kitchen shone so brightly against his face, it was really the first time Edd could see his scars. "Ah, sorry. Did I wake you?"

"No, I was already awake." Tord said with a soft smile, releasing the doorway from his grip, "Did you have a nightmare too?"

"What? No no, I just came to get something to eat. Wait.. Did you have a nightmare, Tord?" Edd asked softly, approaching the taller one with caution mixed with curiosity.

"Yeah, but don't worry. I'm used to it."

"Want to talk about it?"

"I don-... Wait, you actually want to talk to me?" Tord asked curiously.

"I've been a jerk ever since you came. I might as well try to make amends, yeah?"

Tord let out a soft chuckle as he sat on top of the counter, leaning on his legs, "Alright, but my nightmares aren't irrational fears. They're flashbacks."

"Flashbacks? Like when you left?"

"Like when I got this." He pointed at the scars running along the right side of his face that made some sort of warped pattern along his cheekbone. "Now, how much would you like to know?"

"I want to know everything." Edd said, sitting on the counter next to his friend.

It took hours, but Tord told him his whole past. He wasn't ashamed at all to tell him, but he didn't explain his connection to the Red Army. Everytime Edd would try and bring it up, Tord just ignored him and told of all the crazy shit he did. He explained what happened after he replaced his arm, how he got used to using it, how he lived in a cabin next to the fjords for a while, and how he got back to Eddsworld. All the while of him explaining his hijinks, Edd sat quietly and listened intently. They talked for hours, and in exchange for Tord's story, Edd told him of everything that happened between the trio. This went on until the sun peeked from behind the hill and shined right into the kitchen window, alerting them of the time that passed by.

It became mid-morning when Tom slunked down from his room and into the kitchen, looking for something to eat. "Dammit, Matt! It's your turn to make breakfast!" He yelled blindly up the stairs, his eyes shut tightly to block the sun from getting into his sockets.

"It's nobody's turn. We stopped doing that, remember?" Edd said, looking at his friend with confusion.

The sudden voice caused Tom to jolt up slightly, opening his eyes to reveal the two who were now in his line of vision, "Oh? Was I drunk when you told me that?"

"How am I supposed to tell anymore? You're constantly drinking from your flask!"

"Am not." Tom said defensively, slowly setting the silver container on the table from behind his back. He broke his eye contact from Edd and looked at Tord who was sitting calmly next to his roommate. Though it was hard to recognize him since his horned-hair was laid flat against his face. "Is modesty not a thing anymore? Jeez.." He commented under his breath, staring at Tord's /outfit/.

"Eh? Excuse me?" Tord said as he slid off the counter, having a good two inches over Tom.

"You don't have a shirt on, and I can see your boner through your boxers, dumb Commie." Tom replied while walking to the fridge.

"Exc- I don't have a-" Tord stuttered and then sighed while looking down at himself. He looked back up with a smirk on his face. "That is not a boner, I'm just that big."

Hearing that made Tom stand up abruptly, banging his head on the inside of the fridge. He rubbed the top of his head as he stuttered for a comeback. It took a moment, but all he did was grab the orange juice from the refrigerator in defeat and sit down at the table, drinking straight from the carton quietly. "Whatever. We don't have anything to eat anyways."

With a yawn, Edd smiled at pat Tom's shoulder while walking out of the kitchen. "I'm going to get more beauty sleep. Feel free to go grocery shopping whenever you're ready."

"Yeah yeah yeah, okay." He waved a hand and shooed him out of the room dismissively. When Tom heard Tord chuckle from a few feet away, his eyes whipped up and glared at him, "The hell you laughing at, chuckles?"

"You aren't a morning person, are you?" He teased, walking by and poking Tom in the side with his robotic hand to agitate him.

Jumping up in his seat while bearing his teeth in anger, Tom swatted away the hand and stood up to face the other. Though there was a pain emitting from his hand due to the metallic arm, Tom ignored it. "You seem to have got a nerve, this morning. What happened, you suddenly not care about getting on our nice side?"

"It helps when I realize I am slowly repairing my friendships. Everything is going back to how it was before, don't you see?" Tord smiled, but it wasn't mischievously. He gave a genuine smile as he brushed his fingers through his hair, combing it all backwards.

"I-!.. Well I suppose they are. But that's no reason to get cocky."

"Don't worry, my friend. I'm only cocky around you, trust me! I know my boundaries for the other two." Tord winked and walked to the living room to grab some clothes and get changed. He was gone before Tom could even react and he dug through his things with a smug smile on his face.

As he left, Tom was left standing there gritting his teeth. Mumbling to himself, he sat down and grumbled under his breath. "I'm still not your friend." He said into the carton, glaring at the doorway leading out of the kitchen.

"Guys! Guys! Guys!" Matt's loud and excited voice rang through the house as he ran in excitedly while holding a box. "Look what I found! It's amazing!"

"Is it another mirror? I think you have enough already." Tom said with uninterest in his voice, not even glancing over at his friend as he took a sip from his flask.

"No! It's even better than a mirror!"

"Is it treasure? Or an old pirate map?" Edd asked with excitement, leaning on the back of the couch to look over at the brown box that Matt held.

"No! It's so incredible that I couldn't believe what it was!"

"Is it a rocket?" Tord decided to chime in from the side in curiosity.

"No no no! You're all guessing wrong!" Matt shook his head and set the box down on the table in front of the TV, blocking Tom's view of whatever he was watching. Matt slowly pulled the thing out for dramatic effect, and revealed to all of them a very elegant painting of someone with a plastic horse head on them trying to drink a can of cola.

Tom's eye sockets drifted from the screen to the painting and gasped, wiping a stray tear away. "It's… It's so beautiful.."

"Oh my God, Matt! Where did you find this?" Edd asked with amazement, walking over to his friend who held the art piece in his hands.

"It was at a garage sale, and I thought we could hang it up in our house!" He replied with his chest puffed out, obviously bathing in his own pride. "Aren't I smart? It was only 7£!"

As the three were marveling over Matt's 'beautiful' discovery, Tord sat on the side and watched with curious eyes as he tried to figure out what was so great about the painting. Of course, he probably would've been more amazed prior his 'incident', but still. They were all older than before and he figured they grew out of cherishing novelties like those. As he watched the three enjoy their time while looking at the art, Tord simply looked down at his arm and clutched his metal fist. He realized he was the only one who had grown up and matured. _Why're they still like this?_ He thought to himself. _It's a stupid painting, probably something someone made when they were drunk or high. Why do they like it so much?_

A few minutes past and the novelty wore thin. They all decided it would be best to keep it in Matt's room since he was the one who found it. With a happy attitude Matt gladly took it and claimed that he would cherish it forever. Matt ran upstairs with the horse-headed beauty and Edd sat back down on the couch with Tom calmly, quieting the room once again. The only sound that could be heard once again was the canned laughter coming from the sitcom on the television. When Matt emerged from his room in the attic, he took a seat next to Tord and began admiring himself in a handheld mirror while fixing his hair.

"You're still as vain as ever I see." Tord chuckled, poking a bit of fun at his friend.

"Vein? Like in your body?"

When Edd heard that, he sighed and looked over at the two, "Matt, why would he call you a vein?"

"The question is, is being called a vein a compliment?" Matt argued back, pointing a finger at him to further prove his point.

"He didn't.. Vain is when you like yourself a whole lot, idiot." Tom said coolly.

"Oh! Of course I am, then! I'm beautiful!" He exclaimed happily, grinning widely in his new knowledge of a word.

Tord let out a laugh, patting Matt on the shoulder as he wiped a tear away from the side of his eye. Edd soon joined in with laughing as the ginger sat there with a confused look on his face. "What? What's so funny guys? Guys?"

The only one who wasn't laughing was Tom, who watched them all with crossed arms, narrowing his eyes subtly at Tord. _He's too friendly. Why is he so confident and comfortable around us all of a sudden?_ He thought skeptically to himself. _He's up to something, and I want to know what._

Author's Note: Hoo Boy! This feels more like a filler chapter, but I promise I'm working on the next one! I'm on a 5-hour flight next week so I'll be able to write a LOT on the plane. A lot of angst is coming, so grab a bottle of Smirnoff and a blanket cause I am so ready to start working on Tom and Tord's relationship!

:)

-K


	4. Chapter 4: Making a Move

WARNING: Some smut is included in this chapter

* * *

About two weeks passed and the mood between Tord, Matt, and Edd only lightened from how they were before. Sure Tom would occasionally make a snarky comment or two, but when didn't he do that already? But he was still wary on the intentions of Tord, he would often notice him sitting outside at night and just staring at the sky with a gadget in his hand Sometimes he would hear Tord talking to himself when he was alone before anyone would enter the room. He wasn't an idiot, so he decided that Tord was still in contact with someone that only he knew of. And the inventions never stopped being made over time; there would often be a loose screw laying on the ground near the couch, some sort of device being held in Tord's hand long after he fell asleep, and way more 'upgrades' being done on his arm. The other two seemed to enjoy and find the new contraptions entertaining, but Tom wanted to know what his roommate was up to on his free time.

It was a little after 5 o'clock and Matt and Edd decided to head to the arcade to put an end on some sort of trivial argument they were having. Something about who was better at dance-dance-revolution? Anyways, that left the two 'buddies' alone in the house together for a couple hours. Tom didn't mind it, he actually liked the quiet and took this as an opportunity to hide out in his room and practice on playing Susan.

Tom was jamming out in his room, minding his own business when Tord got bored and stuck his head in to watch and listen to the chords being played with aggression. Tom was so caught up in his own rockstar fantasies that he didn't even notice the Norwegian in the doorway as he got up and swung around the room swiftly while slamming his fingers down on the strings roughly. He headbanged and did a couple tricks for a few minutes, and when he was done he set Susan down carefully while propping her against the wall and turned to go wash the sweat from his face in the bathroom. That is, until he bumped into a tall wall made of red, soft, cloth.

"Wha? Were you spying on me?!" He asked accusingly while taking a few steps back to look the taller man in the eyes.

"Was not, I just happened to be - eh - passing by. And I noticed you having your own little rock concert in here."

"Whatever." He said indifferently while trying to walk past Tord who didn't move from his spot in the doorway. "Excuse me, I would prefer to wash my face."

"You sweat just from playing guitar for a little?" Tord asked, tilting his head slightly in confusion.

"It was more than a little, thank you. And it's much harder than it looks."

"Oh yeah? I'm sure it is." He said sarcastically, stepping aside to let Jehovah pass.

"You know what, never mind! I don't need to wash my face! I'm fine!" He yelled back defyingly as if he was a teenager again.

"That'll show me." Tord smirked, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he tried to see how far he could push before Tom snaps.

The smaller man mumbled various insults under his breath as he walked to his closet to take off his hoodie and grab a new one. It was one of the only instances where Tord really saw Tom's figure stand out: his sculpted chest showing through a black tanktop, a bit of a beer belly protruding from the fabric (though it really wasn't that bad, he just wasn't ripped), and his shoulder blades digging into the soft cloth covering his back. Tord watched as a weird, sickness-like feeling swirled around in his stomach. It made him uncomfortable when he realized a feeling swept across his mind: lust. It caught him off guard, and it took a second for him to realize it, but he would recognize the feeling anywhere. It had been months since he had even thought of jerking it because he had more important things to do, but the urge just to do something spontaneous and possibly hear Tom scream his name with pain in his voice filled Tord's mind, and it drove him crazy. Just imagining the amount of things he could to with Tom made his pupils grow with interest as he fantasized the blissful sound of begging and panting and yelling. He was sadistic and he was damn proud of it. But his thoughts were soon cut short when his soon-to-be victim flicked him in the nose to pull him back to reality.

"Oi, Commie. You can stop watching me change whenever you're ready."

"H-huh?" Tord shook his head and realized that he started his fantasy just as Tom pulled his hoodie off, and now the man was standing in front of him only in boxers and socks with his arms crossed across his chest and his emotionless eyes stared up at him expectantly.

With a scoff, Tom walked past him and grabbed a couple things from the laundry room and set them on his bed. "I would close the door but you're in front of it."

"Awh, and you don't wanna hurt me?" He teased, making a kissy face and winking.

"I don't want to break the bloody door, asshat. Don't flatter yourself."

Dramatically, Tord put a hand on his chest and swooned backwards, leaning on the wall. "You wound me with your words, my dear Jehovah!"

"Dear Lord, you're so irritating." Tom muttered while pulling a fresh shirt over his torso.

Seeing this as an opportunity, Tord rushed to the other man and pushed him against a wall, grinning challengingly. "What're you going to do, Thomas? Punish me?"

Stunned by the physically stronger man pinning him up against the wall and the use of his full name, Tom stared up at Tord with his round, void eyes. He stuttered, not even knowing how to process what was happening, let alone react to whatever the hell Tord thought he was doing. But just as he figured out what to say, the memory of Tord shooting at him throughout the entire house and Jon's dead body laying on the ground meters away flashed in his brain. His mind immediately went to defense mode and he swung his leg as hard as he could straight between the taller man's legs, making contact with his crotch.

If you were watching at the right time and saw it happen frame-by-frame, you could probably see the exact moment Tord's pupils implode on themselves as his sperm count dropped tenfold. Tears formed at the corners of his eyes as his hands flew from holding Tom's wrists to covering his own tiny robot. Everything happened in slow motion for him as he fell to his knees, his forehead lying on the ground and his legs trembling as he tried to process the pain that he had just experienced. He tried to squeak out a single word, but all that came out was whimpers and croaking noises. After about 5 minutes of pure agony and Tom standing there like an idiot not knowing what to do, Tord rolled to his side while still clutching himself.

"W-w-why would you d-do that?!"

"I panicked!"

"Ap-p-parantly!" He stuttered out, his face still flushed darkly from the pain.

"I'm sorry! Uhm.. Let me.." Tom cautiously wrapped his arm around the man curled up on the ground and grunted as he hauled him to his feet. He figured that the least he could do is let Tord lay on his bed for a bit as he rested up, so he did just that.

"Stupid Jehovah's witness.." The norwegian muttered as he layed back on the mattress, still clutching the area between his legs.

"I said I'm sorry, now calm down you big baby." He rolled his eyes and took a step back, looking down at Tord. "Now don't dodge the situation, what the hell were you doing?"

"What did it look like, idiot?"

"It looked like you were about to fuck me." Tom said, his eyes narrowing.

"Ding ding ding! You are correct! Congratulations!" Tord grinned and clapped, rolling over to look at his friend as Tom rolled his eyes.

"I don't need your sarcasm right now, why were you on top of me?" The other man crossed his arms and narrowed his void-like eyes. "Neither of us are queer as far as I know."

"Speak for yourself."

"Excuse me?"

"I said, 'speak for yourself'!" He said a bit louder, sitting up on the soft bed to see if he was still hurting. "Ungh.. You swing hard, you know that?"

"For good reason! You can't just do things like that to people when they aren't expecting it!"

"So if you knew, then you wouldn't have kicked me?" Tord asked, raising his eyebrows in curiosity.

"I'm not saying that, I'm just saying- mmppff!" Tom's voice was soon muffled by a certain commie grabbing him by his hoodie and pulling him forward, pressing their lips together.

At first, Tom struggled against the other's grip, but after a few seconds he stopped wiggling and started leaning into the rough grip Tord had on his hoodie. They continued to kiss for a few moments until Tord pulled his head back, carrying his natural michevious grin that he normally had. "Now was that so bad?"

"Well… No, it wasn't."

"Do you want more?" He teased, already knowing his answer.

"I hate you, stupid commie." Tom responded before leaning in to kiss the other again, feeling the soft skin of their lips connecting sent electric signals through his body.

Then Tord began to advance, licking the lip of the other and sliding his tongue into Tom's mouth, exploring the new area as he tugged him closer. Earning a soft moan from the Jehovah's witness made Tord continue with happiness as he knew that he wanted more. His hand slowly snaked up the blue fabric of the hoodie as he gripped onto Tom's torso, feeling his warm body against his colder hand. As his fingers trailed up and down his sides, he felt the smaller man shiver in his grip with goosebumps beginning to line up and down his hips. With that hand exploring the new terratory, his other hand found his way to the spiked up hair to entangle the soft brown locks in his hand.

Tom, on the other hand, tugged at Tord's hoodie as he began to beg for more, the feeling of submissiveness slowly beginning to take over his senses. He wanted to be in control like he naturally was in most situations, but deep down he knew that he couldn't overpower Tord no matter what he could do. He was a closeted pansexual, and the only person that knew was Edd who found out on accident when Tom got too drunk one night and needed a ride home from the bar. He would've told Matt, but he was scared that Matt wouldn't understand as well as Edd did (Lord only knows how he would comprehend it with his intelligence). And even though he and Tord have only gotten into fistfights, he wouldn't exactly mind if they had gone a little below the belt. The fact he gets a sort of high from fighting only incresed the lust flowing between the two tangled bodies on his bed. Lust or hatred, nothing really could stop what was happening as Tord aggresively groped the other and Tom kept begging for more. He didn't want it to stop, so it didn't come to a surprise to him when he laid on his back and Tord crawled over him.

Tord's mind become fuzzy as some sort of monster inside of him took control, he became an animal when he began to stip the man below him of his clothes and pupils grew with intrest when he saw the pale chest of his partner. He pulled away slightly and began to stroke the sides of Tom's torso which only made him shudder in pleasure. The sheer sight of someone writhing beneath him, turned Tord on to no end. It only made him want to torture Tom more, to make him scream and beg for him to be merciful. Whether it was out of pleasure or pain, Tord knew he was going to get what he wanted soon or he was going to lose his mind.

Ho Boy, was he going to lose his mind.

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Author's Note:

Oh man! I'm finally in Hawaii but I have limited access to internet, so please bear with me! I hope this chapter was alright, I wrote it on the plane while a little girl watched Eddsworld with me.

:)

-K


	5. Chapter 5: The Real Tord

The dark room surrounded the two as the only thing visible was the small light flashing on the red cyborg arm and the jerking of silhouettes against each other. As the bodies thrusted against each other, sweat flew in the air, dampening both of their hair and causing Tord's to fall flat against the sides of his head. At first, the men were nearly silent: only letting out a concentrated groan when necessary. But then they became reckless. Tom moaning the Norwegian's name in pleasure and Tord talking dirtier and dirtier as the night went on. Of course, the two were hesitant at first with careful foreplay including Tom cautiously holding onto Tord's right shoulder as he was scared he'd disconnect the metal arm. Learning each other's limits, they only did as much as you would expect from a one-night-stand.

Hours past and the night ended with each of them lying side by side quietly as Tom tapped on his phone with the light illuminating against his flushed face. His void-like eyes tilted up in worry as he was checking-in with Edd and Matt to see what was taking them so long to get home.

"They're stuck." He said softly, continuing to text quietly to his friend.

"Hm?" Tord responded drowsily and carelessly, not even bothering open his eyes or even roll over and look at the other man.

"Their car broke down and they had to stay overnight at a motel."

"That's too bad." He muttered indifferently, rolling to his side away from the light.

Tom smacked his arm lightly and sat up. "We should go pick them up. They shouldn't have to spend the night at a shitty motel just because neither of us picked up our phones."

"Hm."

"Do you even care?"

"Nh-nnn"

"Whatever. I'm going out to get them." Tom rolled his eyes and swung his legs to the side of the mattress, slipping a shirt over his head and carefully standing up."

"Tom, wait." Tord rolled over and looked up at him."

"What?"

"Pick up some cigs?" A devilish grin grew across his face as the other man scoffed and walked out of the room while holding two fingers up in the air.

The next morning followed soon after Tom got home with his two friends, but he didn't get any sleep. Instead as the three others slept, he sat in the kitchen alone and just listened to the clock tick slowly. The redness of the sunrise glowed from behind the dark clouds that hovered in the sky which gave the room a light grey tint, making the atmosphere seem lonelier than normal. As Ton's leg bobbed quickly as he stared at the wall he felt a soft furry object rub against his leg. With a smile, he picked Ringo up and let him sit on the table with him as he continued to contemplate. The events of the previous night ran through his brain, replaying on a never ending loop. Was it a mistake, or did he really think it was worth it? In his mind, he made a mistake because all he was last night was full of angst and lust. It had been so long since he got his dick wet and he just wanted someone to lay for a one-night stand.

Obviously that was a one sided argument as Tord walked by him and ran his fingers through his hair while humming a soft tune to himself. It caught Tom by surprise and he didn't even realize what happened until he saw the sexy norwegian pouring a cup of coffee for himself and head back upstairs like nothing happened. Tom blinked a few times and shook his head, standing up abruptly which caused Ringo to hop from his lap and meow upsetly at the brit. He ignored this and headed upstairs to Edd's room and rapped at the door a few times. From behind the door, he heard a couple of grunts, and a quick shuffling to the door before it swung opened and revealed his roommate in only his boxers and an open robe with his face flushed.

"H-hey Tom, what's up?" Edd said between pants.

"Uhm.. Heeyy.. The hell were you doing in there?" He responded, tilting hie head slightly to get a look inside the room.

"Nothing you need to worry about. What's up?" Edd calmed his heart slightly and took a deep stabilizing breath before walking back into his relatively clean room.

Tom followed and walked to his dresser, picking up a ray gun from one of their adventures and held it in his hands. "Remember when Tord came back from like 5 years of being gone?"

This silenced Edd and put an awkward silence between them until he finally responded with a "yeah"

"And remember how I got fed up with him and moved out?"

His friend whipped his head towards him and stood up from sitting on his bed. "No."

"I think it'd be best if I moved out."

"No. Tom."

"He and I don't get along. We-"

"Did something happen when we were gone last night?" Edd was near tears and he rushed to Tom while grabbing his shoulder roughly.

"Yeah.."

"We'll kick him out then! There's absolutely no reason you need to leave if you two aren't getting along!"

"Edd-"

"You can't leave, it's not your fault!"

Tom shut him up by embracing him in a tight hug, his arms wrapped around his torso tightly. "Thank you for everything, Edd. I'll miss you."

Edd just reciprocated the hug and rested his head on his friend's shoulder, mumbling softly in his ear. "Don't go far. You're still my friend and I want to hang out."

"Of course, Edd.. But can you break it to Matt? You and I know he wouldn't let me leave."

Edd nodded and waved as his friend walked out.

It had taken a couple of hours, but Tom packed his stuff into his car and took one last look at the house he had lived in for years now. He knew he needed to leave but he didn't know where or for how long. All he knew was that he had messed up and that he would make it worse the longer he stayed. He felt numb as he slid into the drivers seat and turned the car on, feeling the engine come to life as he turned the key and pressed the gas pedal. His mind turned off as he drove lifelessly through the city, not really caring where he went. Morning went to afternoon and afternoon went to night and the only sign of Tom stopping was for gas. He had pulled over for the night at a motel on the side of the road and he parked directly in front of his room, talking only with the stoned worker at the front desk to get his key. He strolled into the room and turned on the water in the bathrub, watching as the water rose to nearly the top.

He slowly stripped himself and look at the bruised body standing in the mirror. He was covered in hickeys and bruises but the only thing he noticed was the dark circled under his already black eyes and his ungelled hair falling back against his head. He looked like a mess and he felt like an emotional mess as he slid his body into the warm water and popped open his last bottle of vodka, making a mental note that he needed to get more soon. He held the neck and took a large swig of the clear liquid, feeling the warmth of the alcohol fill his stomach which held no food in it. He knew he would most likely get more drunk than normal but he pushed away the thought and submerged his head in the bath. The thought of how he could very easily drown himself in that moment echoed his brain but he knew he wouldn't go through with it. He knew instincts would kick in and he would lift his head into the air just in time to live, so he did just that. As he relaxed against the back of the tub, he took more and more sips of the soothing drink and it soon helped him drift into a more or less pleasant slumber.

The sound of faint knocking woke up the sad drunkard as he bobbed his head awake. He looked down and realized he was still in the tub and the bottle of smirnoff was sadly halfway spilled across the bathroom. He heard the sound again:

 _Knock knock knock_ "Housekeeping!"

"Go away!" He called at the door, standing up in the cold water and wrapping a towel around himself.

 _Knock knock knock_ "Housekeeping!"

"I said, go away! Come back later!" Tom responded, a bit more irritated at the persistence of the goddamn maid.

 _Knock knock knock_ "Housekeeping!"

"Come back later!" He said with a more ferocity than normal, his brows furrowing as he stormed to the door with a towel wrapped around his hips.

 _Knock knock knock_ "Housekeeping!"

Livid, Tom whipped open the door as it slammed against the wall behind it. But he immediately regretted being so stupid as to opening the door when he saw the horned cyborg standing in front of it with a grin on his face.

"Ever seen Tommy Boy, Thoma-" Tord was cut off with a door slamming in his face, wincing slightly at the loud noise.

"Yeah! Have you ever seen I Love You, Philip Morris? I left for a reason!" Tom yelled at the door, locking it quickly.

"Thomas, don't be like that.. You didn't even tell me you were leaving!" He reasoned.

"Ever consider that I knew what I was doing?"

"Open the door."

"Go away."  
"Please, Tom, open the door."

There was a null before the door open slightly and one of the void-like eyes peered at the other man. Tom looked hungover as hell, but he wasn't minding the headache as he was used to the feeling. "How'd you even find me?"

"Tom, don't insult me, you and I both know that I know what I'm doing."

"What do you want?"

"I want you to open the door.. Just give me one more chance."

Shakily, the door opened wider, the light of the outside world lighting the dark room inside. "What do you want now..?"

Tord stepped inside and shut the door behind him, embracing the smaller man with a very warm embrace. Tom melted into his arms and for the first time, felt very vulnerable. The coldness of his shirtless body clashing into the heat of Tord was like ice and fire. Then something a bit colder pressed against the side of Tom's neck as he eyes widened.

"I'm sorry, Thomas.." Was the last thing he heard before Tord pulled the trigger and a swift ' _Syynth_ ' echoed the room, causing Tom's body to fall against the ground like a lifeless corpse.

* * *

Guess who's back? I got off my lazy ass and gave my writers block a middle finger and this chapter was born! I finally have the story in a direction I want it to go so I am very excited! Expect a new chapter very soon!


	6. Chapter 6: The Unknown Future

Tord walked through the halls of his old hideout as his two loyal henchmen followed behind whilst carrying Tom. His hands were folded neatly behind his back and he held his chin high up as his boots clacked against the ground, ringing off the walls. He closed his eyes as a faint memory flashed. Clack… Clack… Clack...

Clack Clack Clack.. Was the only sound he could hear. The only thing he was wearing was a blue surgical robe which left his back totally exposed to the steel cold of the table. His arms and legs were strapped to the legs and his whole body felt numb. Panic running through his veins, he thrashed his body as much as he could in any attempt to escape. The heels were getting closer and his breath quickened as he felt his blood pressure rise rapidly. The taste of leather filled his mouth as he tried to scream, shout, or yell, anything to get the alert of anybody. Until he saw the face of - him -.

"Tord Larsson, nice to see you again." A hand wrapped around his face as he kissed his cheek with a smirk. As he leaned away, he unstrapped the leather that bound the Norwegian's mouth.

In response, Tord spit in his face, his eyes glaring angrily. "I told you to piss off last time I saw you."

"Mhmm.. And you're still as stupid as ever." He wiped his face with his gloved hand and leaned over the brunette with a devilish grin, his glimmering white teeth being the only thing visible at the moment. "But that's okay.. Some people just need to learn the hard way… How should I torture you first, hm? Why don't we start with these eh? You don't need them." Tord soon felt the cold metal of pliers rest against his toe as the sadist yanked as hard as he could.

Tord widened his eyes and let out the loudest and painful blood-curdling scream; he wrapped his fingers around the bunches of leather strapped around his wrists and yanked it as hard as he could and thrashed his body back in forth as he slowly felt his toenails rip off one by one.

Soon it wasn't just his toenails, the man removed his fingernails, teeth, burned various parts of his skin and smashed the bones in his limbs.

Hours and hours of torture later the man standing above the Norwegian smirked and held a vial of glowing red liquid up to the light, yanking Tord's head up by his hair so he could see it. Tord's eyes barely stayed open and blood slowly dripped from his mouth as his eyes met the concoction.

"You see this? This is what all this was for.."

"H-hu..h?"

"Everything you went through was for this."

"So..n of a.. B.. itc..h."  
"Open wide, Tord." He said before sliding it into his mouth, shutting his mouth and nose in order for him to swallow it.

"I needed your body to endure the worst pain imaginable before eating this. Your cells will soon all be replaced with my own invention and you'll be the perfect soldier. You will become the new leader when I am gone and you'll do the same thing to a soldier when you kick the bucket.

"Fuc..k you…" He panted out before his head fell against the table in exhaustion, his irises rolling back into his head.

Tord shook his head and blinked as he soon realized he was bracing himself against the wall with his hand. He turned his head to the side and saw his henchmen staring at him with worry while still holding Tom by the shoulders.

"Sir..? Are you o-"

"Did I tell you to stop?! Bring him to the room before he wakes up, you ignorant pieces of garbage!" Tord yelled in anger, his face scrunching up as a migraine swept over his head. His vision swarmed with a red tint and a tight stinging shot through his arm, but he didn't show any signs of pain as to show his soldiers he has no weakness.

Patryk nodded obediently as he started walking, but Paul was watching Tord with curiosity. "Paul.. Let's go, come on."

The voice tugged Paul back to reality as he matched Pat's pace and tugged the body along down the hall to the examination rooms. Red leader followed behind the three men and turned into the only room with the door open and the light on. Three out of the five doors were closed and each of them had a different person inside who were most likely strapped down to a table. Tom was treated no different, but instead of lying him down on the cool, hard, steel platform; they set him down carefully into a chair and bound his wrists to the arms and his ankles to the legs of it.

Paul and Pat weren't like their leader. They were trained and were once as ruthless as him, but they grew a sense of compassion for others and they remembered how everyone deserves to be shown mercy - especially at the hands of someone like Tord who was sick with power. They didn't tie Tom up so he would lose the blood flow in his limbs, but they did tie him up enough just to make sure he wouldn't be able to escape. Once they were done with their task, they both turned and headed towards the door before Tord stepped into the doorway to block their path.

"Patryk, you're dismissed. I need Paul for one more thing."

With a look of confusion washing over both of their faces, Pat nodded and walked down the hall, making eye contact with his partner and exchanging a worried look with him before completely disappearing into the hallways of the barracks.

"Sir. What do you need me for?" Paul asked, standing at attention.

Red Leader gave out a soft chuckle before patting his shoulder and closing the door to leave them together inside the room with Tom. "At ease, soldier. You know that you're one of my best men, right?"

Paul nodded and relaxed his body, sliding out a cigarette from a pack in his pocket and sticking it into the side of his mouth, taking out a pack of matches to go along with it.

"I would like to show you how leaders are born. If I die, which won't be any time soon if I can help it, I need someone to take control of the army and rule with an iron fist."

"Were you trained to take this army over, sir?" He asked, lighting the match and lifting it to the stick of nicotine he held between his teeth. His eyes glanced up ever so slightly to meet the Norwegian. "Or did you create it yourself just like everyone believes you did?"

"None of that is important, Paul. What is important is that you don't get a say in what I tell you to do. If I tell you to lead, you lead. If I tell you to kill, you kill. And if you aren't as strong as you seem, then I will do what I want to you even if that means eliminating the only source who contains all my secrets."

With a gulp, Paul nodded and took a puff of his cigarette, watching the smoke that he exhaled float up to the ceiling and out the vent in the corner. He knew he had to do what he had to do in order to survive, even if that means killing the infamous Red Leader. He pushed that thought away as he continued down the hall. Maybe one day Paul.. Maybe one day…

Tom woke up in a cold sweat as he gasped for breath. His eyes darted around the room for some inclination of where he was but he recognized nothing. Every corner of the room was pitch black except for a table at one end with a lamp shining at the wall. His head pounded from the poison and the alcohol and his body ached from lack of food or fresh water for days. He was parched and felt dehydrated but he couldn't let that stop him from trying to escape. He wiggled his wrists until his left hand popped out from the rope so he leaned over and untied his right hand. Leaning down, he undid the bounds on his ankles and he quietly and carefully stood up. He couldn't even make it three steps before his legs gave out and he collapsed to the ground. Panicked, he hoisted himself up and limped to the wall carefully, positioning himself against it so that the weight wasn't so much on his legs.

"Thomas." A quiet voiced echoed from the front of the room.

Tom's heart skipped a beat when he realized what happened. "You.."

"I didn't want to hurt you."

"Don't lie to me, you damn commie!" He lashed out, yelling around the room due to his vision not allowing him to see much.

"You have something I need."

"I don't have jack shit! Why can't you just leave me alone?!"

Tord let out a sigh and approached the Brit, hesitantly reaching for him. "You need to trust me."

Tom recoiled and yanks his arm away. "You kidnapped me! You drugged me!"

Tord became more irate by the second. His eyebrow twitched and he eventually couldn't contain his anger. Swinging his robotic arm, he grabbed Tom's arm and threw him against the ground. "Shut up!" The weaker brit was shaking as he hit the ground, and as he looked up at Tord, it seemed that he grew bigger and stronger from the passing time he'd seen him.

Knowing he wouldn't be able to outpower this sadistic man, Tom propped himself up on his arms and stayed on the ground, "At least tell me. What do you want?"

After a few deep breaths, Tord had composed himself and knelt down in front of the other, a grin coming across his face as a glimmer of red flashed in his eyes, "I want to know what's in those beautiful black holes you call eyes."

"Still a flirt as always." Tom's eyes hardened as he proceeded to glare.

Tord took this as an opportunity to stand up and pace in a circle, "You know me, Thomas. I've always been a romantic," he said before walking towards the door. "I worry that you may die in the process but.. You aren't my friend, right? So I don't care."

"Damn commie bastard!" Tom yelled as he tried to stand up, but he collapsed a few seconds after.

"I'll send your love to Edd and Matt!" He cheerfully added, walking out of the room and letting the door close with a loud slam.

* * *

Ask and you shall receive! I apologize for my absence and I am prepared to continue this story until the very end! Time and time again I see another review for this story pop up in my email and I keep telling myself to post another chapter. I may not be as invested in the Eddsworld fandom as I was when I began, but I still find the fanbase calling to me and I want to continue what I started.

Much love from Oregon!

~~ Caden


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